So, if you can't float an Xpan,....

V

Vickko

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... then shoot at 25mm and crop the top and bottom?

I suppose you sacrifice in resolution, but, does it get you started?

Vick
 
Sure, why not? You are only throwing away a bunch of the negative :) If you do this, I'd obviously stick with slower films or maybe T-Max 400.

One added bonus of doing this by the way (other than not having to buy and carry a new camera) is that you get shift capabilities for free. Just use the top 3rd of the negative instead of the middle 3rd. On the other hand, viewing through the Xpan viewfinder is pretty cool ;)

A similar argument could be made with a medium format camera and a 50mm-ish lens. Just crop until you get 3:1 aspect ratio.

Actually, if you are shooting on an M9, you probably have enough resolution and freedom from noise at lower ISO settings that you are probably fine. Coupled with the fact that you can get a 1-3 stops faster on the lens, it's probably a wash. f/4 at ISO 400 on the Xpan or f/2 at ISO 160 on the M9...
 
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I like Tim's idea of using a MF camera.

I'd probably use my Plaubel 69W and trim down a 6x9 negative horizontally. The FOV of the Plaubel's lens is a 21mm equiv. Not sure how the effective FOV changes with the trimming though. Using the top or bottom effectively gives you a "tilt" camera movement for perspective control.

Cal
 
Mamiya 6 & 7 with pan adapter and if u stretch the idea maybe the yashica 635 and the rollei 35 adapter..

But the way to look at it is that xpan gives essentially same image quality of a 6x7 in a light weight package, with a 30, 45 and 90 mm lenses at a ok price as compare to finding equivalent lenses in any other mf format...

Yep cropping film or a digital is another valid way to accomplish this. I do it all the time when I find something that looks good in panoramic and I do not have my xpan.

Gary
 
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Yeah the nice thing about the Xpan is that it's not much larger than my M and handles more or less the same way. It also eats the same film.
 
I have to admit that I have been attracted to XPan too, but the price keeps me away. The II version is even more pricey. And the lenses are on the slow side too (not a surprise though).


What about getting the older Fuji GSW690 and crop ? The view is not as wide (effectively like 28 versus 25), but you would actually end up with image somewhat larger than from Xpan (6x9 neg is 82mm long, the one from XPan about 65mm). But contrary to Mamiya 6MF or 7 you can not (as far as I know) load 35mm film in the Fuji (what would make for cool framing), but the cost is much less than Mamiyas.

EDIT: Cropping 35 mm frame to 1:2.66 ratio is indeed possible, but you will be left with tiny panoramas. Maybe stitching 2 or 3 shots taken with 40 or 50 mm lens would be a better idea ...
 
I got an Xpan a couple months ago after toying with the idea for awhile. I use it less than I hoped for, but more than I figured I would. Haha. It's a lot of fun. Just get the version one and the 45. You should be able to land one for $1200-1500. At first I toyed with the idea of the 90 since it's affordable, but decided against it. The 30 is very expensive and I'm not sure if I'd really like it. The cool thing about panoramic in my mind is that it's wider than you would normally get, but not super wide. If that makes sense. When I want a real wide feel, I'd rather shoot with my 15 or 21 on my M.
 
Here is what I did before getting a XPan:


Goliath's Backside by *monz*, on Flickr

This is the backside of "Goliath," my ancient Fujica G960 BL medium format rangefinder camera. It's not a pretty sight. Normally, Goliath produces massive 9x6cm negatives using medium-format film. As an experiment, I decided to adapt this behemoth so that it produced panoramic pictures using standard 35mm film. The first problem was securing a 35mm film cassette into a chamber designed for medium format film. After a lot of messing around, I found that placing two polystyrene pellets (as used in packing delicate items for the post) in the film chamber was the best way of securing the 35mm cassette. The film is then pulled across to the take-up spool on the right and attached to it with masking tape. With the back closed, two strokes of the wind-on lever are required to move the film to the next frame. The standard lens with this camera is the 100mm / f3.5 Fujinon although the viewfinder has lines for 100mm and 150mm lenses. Framing panoramic shots with this set-up is a bit of an inexact science but great fun. From my first roll of 36 exposure b+w film, I was able to get 13 panoramas, each measuring 24mm by nearly 90mm! As an added bonus, the picture spills on to the borders of the frames, around the sproket holes.... looks very cool (but unfortunately my current scanner can't scan the borders so I can't share the coolness).

Once you get to the end of the film, you can't rewind it (this is a medium format camera which is designed to use rollfilm, remember). I take the film out of the camera in a dark bag and feed it directly onto the developing reel and then place the reel in a Jobo tank ready for developing.

Here are a couple of examples:


Panorama 1 by *monz*, on Flickr


Panorama 2 by *monz*, on Flickr
 
I recently bought an Arsat 30mm lens for my P6 as I thought the cropped neg might be an interesting panoramic idea on 6x6. Somehow I have used it for different compositions - but not the wide-crop. This thread has given me some ideas for next weekend, thanks! :)
 
First of all, I own 2 XPan II. Second, I have also cropped Leica M9 image down to XPan dimension, and yes under some good conditions, it can work. Of course my requirement is to be able to print at least 20" wide so if your requirement is web-pics or smaller prints, then there is no problem.

A P30 digital medium format back crops much nicer, just saying :)

In any case, XPan is not something that you shoot "once in a while." Sure it's fun once in a while, but to grok its point of view, you must stick with it, until you start seeing the framelines floating in front of you :)

As for modding 6x9/6x7 cameras, there are people on EBay who sell 35mm sprocket kits for medium format cameras. Probably the best way to get started. LOMO's Sprocket is ridiculously cheap, but only if you like plastic camera imaging.
 
What about some of the older Nikon or Canon P&S with panorama capability? Are they available used, and if so, where, other than the obvious ebay game. Has anyone tried these recently?
 
The advantage of xpan over the medium or large format work around is
- lighter weight but heavier than normal 35
- can be used mid roll as normal 35mm camera and switch back at will
- built in normal and Pano frame lines in view finder for the 45 and 90

Gary
;)
 
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